Family-friendly company enjoys high employee retention rate

International company 3M, which employs approximately 200 people in New Zealand mainly on Auckland's North Shore, has in recent years evaluated ways in which it could address work and life balance issues. The objectives that emerged from this process were: to enable employees to balance work and family requirements for the benefit of both; and to provide appropriate flexibility, resources and support to employees handling the increasing demands of work and life. 3M won the prestigious North Shore Enterprise "Employer of Choice" 2002 award for the way it values and respects the need for employees to have balance in their lives.

3M has developed a range of initiatives that encourage work and life balance including:

• providing employees with the option to work flexible hours
• enabling employees to work the standard hours over four days instead of five
• offering part-time employment options, including job-sharing.

 Manager discretion is used in establishing all these arrangements.

The company also provides an extensive sick leave policy for employees, bereavement leave and paid parental leave of 14 weeks' paid maternity leave for the mother or one week's paid paternity for the father. Other employees' benefits include tuition refunds, reimbursement of professional fees, fully subsidised medical insurance, and retirement planning seminars.

An Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) is available to employees and their immediate family when assistance with personal problems is required. The programme helps employees to address a wide range of issues, such as marital or family relations, substance abuse, personal or job-related stress and emotional difficulties.

Another 3M initiative is the Family CareLink Resource and Information Service - a free, confidential information service to assist employees with balancing work and family responsibilities. 3M engaged the consultancy services of Families at Work to provide support and advice to its employees about care-giving services available in the community. This can include information about home and community care, childcare options, school holiday programmes, relief care and nursing homes, and retirement options.

Employees call an 0800 number and Families at Work then conducts the research for them.

"To date only small numbers of employees have made use of the service," says human resources manager, Debra Tong. "A lot of people obviously prefer to do this kind of research themselves. However, it's a service that we believe in providing and it's there if employees want it." "In fact, I plan to make use of the programme myself to do research for my own family," says human resources co-ordinator, Lesley Davies.

As a result of these changes an employee opinion survey found that the majority of employee respondents felt they could advance at 3M and still devote sufficient attention to family/personal life. They rated the organisation as family-friendly.

The company has a long-standing relationship with Glenfield College on Auckland's North Shore, providing a week's work experience annually for a small number of students mainly within the IT department.

There is an active company social club and regular 'mix and mingle' activities aimed at employees. At present there is a good level of interest in dragon boat racing. Other activities aimed at employees include a mid-year Dine and Dance and a children's Christmas party.

IHC is contracted by 3M to provide people to assist with various direct mail-out tasks on a day-to-day basis. The company has had a relationship with IHC for about 15 years and the people they provide are fully integrated in the day-to-day activities of 3M.

As a result of these and other initiatives 3M enjoys a high employee retention rate.  Approximately 60 per cent of employees have worked at the company for over 10 years and 30 per cent for over 15 years.

'People like the culture, the opportunity to work flexible hours and the total benefits package,' says human resources manager Debra Tong.